Paradise Valley dates to 1961, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #67 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Paradise Valley was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1970.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Paradise Valley is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #67 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Paradise Valley’s overall grade.
Few Arizona towns list much on the Register (a typical Arizona town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Paradise Valley’s 7.1 sits above most of its state (75% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1961.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Paradise Valley’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Paradise Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Camelback sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Paradise Valley.
On the National Register
4 historic places in Paradise Valley
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
The town's current location has been inhabited since pre-Columbian times by pre-industrial agrarian societies. After settlement by European immigrants, the land was used for cattle grazing. In the 1880s, the Rio Verde Canal Company and its manager Frank Conkey surveyed the land so it could be developed into agricultural lots. These surveyors first used the name "Paradise Valley". The name may have been chosen due to the abundance of spring wildflowers and palo verde trees. Mainly an agricultural area during the 1800s and the first half of the 1900s, the area began to be settled after World War II, on large one-to-five-acre (4,000 to 20,200 m2) lots for which it became known.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1961, according to Wikidata. the census of 1970 counted 6,637 people here.
How does Paradise Valley rank for history?
Paradise Valley is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #67 of 140 in Arizona. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Paradise Valley?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Edward L. Jones House (listed 1996, the first). 9 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Paradise Valley?
0.0% of Paradise Valley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1985.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (11), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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